The Limit Worked: Breaking Down Price Growth on Armory Pass Items. Will the Next Rotation Pull Off the Same Trick?
Not long ago, we talked about The Armory Pass collections that got slapped with the “Last Chance to Get” label. Last time around, that warning stuck around for three weeks before the collections rotated out — and just like that, the Gallery Case, The Graphic Design Collection, and the Character Craft Stickers Collection became limited. That means you can no longer grab them with Stars; your only options now are the Steam Market or third-party platforms.
In this piece, we’re taking a look at a handful of items from those retired collections and checking in on their prices six months after leaving the Armory Pass. We’ll also compare them to the collections coming up in the next rotation and help answer the big questions: “is it worth betting on these items?”, “is it too late to buy in?” and “how long should you hold?”
The Graphic Design Collection
AWP | CMYK
- Minimal Wear (October 2025) – $498.57
- Minimal Wear – $825.85
- Nearly 2x growth
Let’s kick things off with the rarest skin in the collection — one that nearly doubled in price over the six months since going limited, which honestly wasn’t much of a surprise. The collection was opened pretty rarely, leaving a lot of skins (especially the high-rarity ones) in short supply. And that’s even after being available in the Armory Pass for over a year.
What’s interesting is that the AWP | CMYK being the sole Covert item was actually the very reason the collection flew under the radar. While everyone was chasing the M4A1-S | Fade or the AK-47 | B the Monster, this unassuming sniper rifle barely got a second glance. Now it’s worth more than both of those “premium” items. Sure, this collection went limited well before Overpass 2024 and Sport & Field, but since Sport & Field is up next on the chopping block, Overpass 2024 automatically becomes the least attractive investment of the “first trio” in the Armory Pass.
AUG | Lil' Pig
- Minimal Wear (October 2025) – $82.37
- Minimal Wear – $177.93
- More than 2x growth
A lot of you probably didn’t even know this thing existed — yet it now costs more than plenty of knives in CS2. Sure, part of that is because it’s a required ingredient for crafting the AWP | CMYK, but does it really matter? The item made a profit, and that’s what counts.
We talked about MP9 | Latte Rush in the same context in our last piece, and we’re pretty confident it could show similar growth over the next six months. Both collections spent about a year in the game, and neither had huge demand thanks to an underwhelming Covert. So if you’ve still got Stars to spend, we’d point them toward Train 2025.
M4A4 | Polysoup
- Field-Tested (October 2025) – $7.39
- Field-Tested – $21.50
- Nearly 3x growth
Moving on — this is the Restricted skin we’ve been hyping since day one. Obviously, going limited played a big role in the price spike, but we never stopped pointing out how underrated the skin’s look was. The holographic effect caught our eye immediately, and we kept talking up the unique design — it just took the community six months to finally agree. The skin has been climbing steadily for the past month.
Now, luck did play a part here: the AnimGraph 2 update made the color shift noticeably brighter and more visible, which was a nice bonus. But we genuinely believe it would’ve found its audience and gone up in price eventually, update or not.
SSG 08 | Halftone Whorl
- Factory New (October 2025) – $0.68
- Factory New – $1.45
- 2x growth
We’ll wrap up the collection talk with its cheapest skin – one that still managed to double in price despite a massive number of copies floating around. So if you think it’s “too late” or that you need serious cash to turn a profit, here’s your proof otherwise.
It’s pretty rare for only a few items in a collection to go up – usually everything in the “crafting chain” rises together.
Character Craft Stickers
Sticker | Flex
- Steam Price (October 2025) – $0.82
- Steam Price – $1.90
- 2x growth
No one was surprised this sticker went up — and as you can probably guess, it’s only going higher from here. And keep in mind, this is a basic Blue-quality sticker, the most common rarity with the highest drop rate. The reason? Sticker crafts. If you’re still not convinced that’s enough to drive prices up, it’s time to reconsider.
On October 1st alone, over 12,000 copies were sold in a single day — and even that kind of volume couldn’t tank the price. People are still buying 13k of these every month, and the price keeps climbing anyway.
Sticker | Kawaii Eyes (Glitter)
- Steam Price (October 2025) – $1.15
- Steam Price – $1.45
- Only 20–30% growth
Before you go thinking any sticker from this collection will do the same — let’s take a look at Kawaii Eyes. This one is higher quality, meaning it dropped less frequently than any Blue sticker and should technically be worth more. And it is more expensive than every Blue sticker in the collection — except for Sticker | Flex, which gets used in crafts far more often, disappears from the market faster, and is simply in higher demand.
Gallery Case
- Steam Price (October 2025) – $1.45
- Steam Price – $1.58
- Only 10% growth
Now let’s talk cases — and answer the obvious question right away: why is this thing growing so slowly? Simple — there are still way too many of them. Even six months after going limited, the Gallery Case is moving 350,000 units a month, with buy orders approaching one million.
It’ll take a long time before supply drops to a point where the price really starts moving. Our estimate? At least 2–3 years, especially given that the case contains the Kukri knives, which aren’t exactly fan favourites. That said, it’s still a pretty safe investment — the fact that it’s holding its value at these sales volumes is actually a good sign.
M4A1-S | Vaporwave
- Minimal Wear (October 2025) – $113.58
- Minimal Wear – $141.01
- Only 10–20% growth
As you can see, even the rarest item in the collection — one that’s genuinely popular in the community and looks great — can’t put up impressive numbers. To be fair, it’s not just the case holding it back. A recent Valve update made the M4A1-S a less appealing pick compared to the M4A4, and pretty much every silenced M4 took a hit in value as a result. So this one’s a long-term hold for sure — but the good news is, it’s absolutely not too late to pick it up as an investment.
Final Thoughts: What to Stock Up on Before the Next Rotation
One thing is clear: items from The Armory Pass that have left the active pool are going up in price. That said, Sport & Field Collection spent significantly longer in the pass than The Graphic Design Collection. From that angle, Train 2025 looks far more attractive — it closely mirrors Graphic Design in terms of both time in the game and number of cases opened.
The Elemental Craft stickers, which are about to rotate out, are very similar to Character Craft (both collections exist primarily for sticker crafting) — but as we’ve seen, only the stickers that get used most in crafts actually go up in price. So focus on those specifically.
Looking back at our predictions from six months ago, we got it right almost across the board – which means the upcoming Armory Pass rotation could genuinely be a strong investment opportunity, as long as you’re picking the right items.
Author: Alex
Alex is an author and esports observer with more than seven years of experience. He specializes in analyzing new releases in the world of computer games, gaming services, and in-game economies. Alex shares practical experience and an expert perspective on the development of gaming, helping readers understand complex mechanics and stay up to date with the latest news.
